The present invention relates to stands for vehicles. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to stands carried on the vehicle body and moveable from a stowed position to a vehicle supporting position.
Vehicles, especially two wheeled vehicles such as motorcycles, often require supporting members to aid in parking and/or supporting the vehicle when the vehicle is not in use. Known generally as stands or kickstands, these supporting members usually include at least one vehicle supporting arm that is adapted to be articulated, such as by the operators foot, between a lowered position for supporting the vehicle and a raised position to be out of the way when the vehicle is in use. As it is important that the arm not inadvertently move toward the lowered position while the vehicle is in use, some prior art support members include an external tension spring connected between the vehicle body and a point on the vehicle supporting arm. Such a spring can yieldingly hold a kickstand in a raised position, and when the support arm is extended toward the lowered position, it can also yieldingly hold the stand in a lowered position. Examples of such prior art kickstands are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,200 to Reed et al. which is hereby incorporated by reference.
However, this external spring, along with undergoing the normal fatigue and stress of use, tends to accumulate road grime and is susceptible to impacts from flying debris, the road, and other obstacles. Accordingly, along with being unsightly and difficult to install and replace, the external tension spring is prone to failure which, if occurring while the vehicle is in use, can be extremely dangerous. In addition, proper functional operation of the spring also depends on proper connection and alignment of the kickstand supporting arm and the connecting brackets. These structures as well are prone to fatigue or damage during normal use.
To avoid the dangers associated with spring failure and/or other related kickstand damage, the spring can be periodically replaced. However, this is a time consuming and messy task that adds to the cost and complexity of general vehicle maintenance. Accordingly, there is a need for a stand configuration that eliminates the need for this external tension spring, or alternatively, provides a backup safety mechanism to use in combination with such a spring to reduce the risks associated with spring failure.
Moreover, stands are traditionally adapted to be locked in some manner into the lowered, vehicle-supporting position. In this way, minor jolts or the application of other forces to the vehicle do not cause the stand to retract to the raised position or otherwise fail to support the vehicle. Where the vehicle is expensive, top-heavy, or simply of substantial weight, the lowered position locking assembly must be configured to be particularly strong and reliable to avoid the vehicle falling and causing damage to itself or surrounding people or property. The problem of stand instability is particularly acute when attempting to park a vehicle on uneven or sloped surfaces.
One common method of locking the kickstand into a vehicle supporting position on heavier vehicles, for example those weighing more than approximately fifty pounds, is to provide a locking assembly that activates when the weight of the vehicle is placed onto the lowered kickstand. For example, a locking tab can be provided on a kickstand where the kickstand pivots under the weight of the vehicle to cause the tab to engage into a corresponding locking slot.
However, effective and smooth operation of some of these prior art locking assemblies depend upon the external spring. This spring generally serves both to facilitate proper alignment of the locking tab into the locking slot and to help disengage the locking assembly when the vehicle weight is lifted from the kickstand. Accordingly, there is a need for a stand that provides a weight activated locking mechanism that lessens or eliminates the dependence on an external tension spring. There is also a need for a kickstand design that provides improved safety and reliability for maintaining alignment and proper functioning of the locking assembly.
Moreover, there is a need for a novel stand structure having a simple and efficient design that reduces manufacturing and/or maintenance costs and is easy to assembly and install on a vehicle body. There is also a need for a stand design that is durable and can reliably withstand long periods of use without substantial maintenance. Finally, there is a need for a stand that is simple to disassemble for adjustments, maintenance, or customization.
In addition, plunger assemblies, including ball detent mechanisms, typically involve a spring biased plunger mounted on one body and adapted to engage a corresponding surface in a second body to control the relative motion therebetween. Typically the corresponding surface on the second body involves a surface detent into which the ball or plunger is received. However, traditional ball detent mechanisms are ineffective where a compact assembly with a high compression force is required. This is due in large part to the need for a metal spring to be large and heavy in order to be able to achieve a high compression force. Moreover, problems also arise from the inability to simply and efficiently pre-load other spring types when assembling a detent mechanism. In addition, typical prior art detent mechanisms are subject to wear and loss of resiliency upon repeated use, which makes them unsafe for use in many applications, such as where failure of a latch is dangerous. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved detent mechanism that is compact and durable yet able to achieve high compression forces. There is also a need for a detent mechanism that is easily assembled, disassembled, or adjusted.
These and other objects are achieved by various embodiments of the present invention.
In the first embodiment the invention provides a vehicle support apparatus including a housing mountable on a vehicle; a support mounted in the housing and translatable between a first position allowing operation of the vehicle and a second position for supporting the vehicle when the housing is on the vehicle; a locking member on the support that selectively engages a portion of the housing or the vehicle to prevent rotation of the support; and a plunger biased toward and cooperating with a non-smooth surface portion of the support member to yieldingly resist translation of the support member.
In a second embodiment a vehicle supporting apparatus includes a housing mountable on a vehicle; a support mounted in the housing and having at least two distinct pivot axes, whereby the support can rotate generally about one axis from a stowed to a vehicle supporting position and the support can rotate generally about a second axis from a locked to an unlocked position, the support having at least one non-smooth surface portion; and a plunger mounted on the housing and biased toward the support for engaging the non-smooth surface portion of the support to yieldingly resist movement of the support from the stowed position.
In a third embodiment a vehicle supporting apparatus includes a bracket; a carrier block received in the bracket and tiltable therein, the carrier block including a bore; and a support received in the bore for rotation therein; whereby the bracket may be placed on the vehicle and the support rotated to a vehicle supporting position, and wherein in further embodiments a stop assembly or a biasing spring can be provided on the block.
In a forth embodiment a low profile latch mechanism is provided including a plunger, a spring, and a threaded plug; wherein the threaded plug compress the spring to bias the plunger; wherein the spring comprises a solid compressible plastic; and whereby the amount of loading on the spring can be controlled by the number of turns of the threaded plug.
A fifth embodiment provides a support member for use in a vehicle stand mechanism including a supporting leg and an angularly turned portion on the supporting leg; the angularly turned portion being adapted to be received in the bore of a stand mechanism and having a connector near the top portion thereof for rigidly receiving a locking bar; the angularly turned portion having at least one surface recess therein; whereby the recess can receive a plunger to lock the supporting leg in a predetermined position.